DON'T BE SAD, BE GRATEFUL!

"Burke's gone". Two words on my phone that transformed a normal Thursday evening into a JFK moment.

- Steve HILL

Unlike the dead Kennedy, we knew the bullet was coming - it was just a question of when and where. As I replied to my son's brief but brutal text: "Bloody Walsall!"

Like many Chester FC fans, I will always remember where I was when I heard of feted centre-back Harrison Burke's departure from the Seals to the Saddlers.

Improbably, I was in a theatre in Taunton about to make a cameo in a friend's comedy show. But once the laughter had subsided I felt myself slipping into a genuine slough of despond, something I could only attribute to the young defender's transfer. To be fair, I wasn't the only one suffering, with reports from Chester of kids crying, even adults crying.

Set against the scale of human suffering, a minor bit of football admin isn't the end of the world, although it's always sad when a beloved player moves on. But as my son pointed out in a rare moment of eloquence, when you're at the bottom of the food chain you will always be susceptible to the apex predators.